Latest news with #Heisman-caliber
USA Today
27-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
ESPN names Jaguars vs. Texans as one of 2025's most 'interesting games'
ESPN names Jaguars vs. Texans as one of 2025's most 'interesting games' While the AFC South might feel like a one-team race entering the 2025 season, there's one game that could define the month of September. The Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars' rivalry reached a new peak following last season's hit from linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair on quarterback Trevor Lawrence. A brawl ensued on the field and led to the eventual suspension of the Texans' captain. ESPN believes given the outcome of Week 13's showdown in 2024, that will be one of the better games to kickstart a new season under Jaguars' first-year head coach Liam Coen. "I didn't realize this until I saw Jaguars reporter Michael DiRocco's note in our full schedule preview: The Jaguars and Texans haven't played since the Azeez Al-Shaair hit that ended Trevor Lawrence's 2024 season and incited a bench-clearing brawl," ESPN's Ben Solak wrote. "Well, they'll play in Week 3. Expect some pregame shenanigans and first drive tone-setting." The Jaguars' revamped offense might have something to do with this game being one of the better early-season matchups. Brian Thomas Jr. was one of the top breakout stars after leading all rookies in receiving yards (1,297) and touchdowns (10). He'll be paired up with No. 2 overall pick Travis Hunter, who is expected to play both ways to begin his NFL career after a Heisman-caliber season at Colorado. But the Texans could combat a new high-flying passing game with a top-five secondary. Second-year standouts Calen Bullock and Kamari Lassiter are two rising stars at cornerback and safety following promising rookie debuts. Earlier this offseason, the Texans also traded former first-round bust Kenyon Green to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for do-it-all defender C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Since 2022, Gardner-Johnson has totaled 13 interceptions and 23 pass breakups. He's also been an anchor for an Eagles' defense that made it to a pair of Super Bowl appearances, including a victory in New Orleans last February. Jacksonville is projected to finish third in the division behind a first-year coordinator and head coach. Houston is projected to win its first AFC South title, but an early-season loss could flip the script for both sides.
Miami Herald
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Stanford Football Preview 2025: Transition Year Ahead for the Cardinal
The drop off the map was swift, brutal, and it keeps was a real, live college football powerhouse from 2009 to 2018. There were Rose Bowls, high draft picks, Heisman-caliber talents, and that was when playing in the Pac-12 meant after a 9-4 2018, the program suffered six straight seasons with four wins or fewer - the 2015 team won as many games as Stanford won combined over the last four years. After two years at the helm, head coach Troy Taylor was fired following a report of alleged mistreatment of staff members - and now Stanford is scrambling. General Manager Andrew Luck is looking for a full-time head coach - Frank Reich still has the interim tag - the 2025 team is traveling to Hawaii, Virginia, Dallas, Miami, and Chapel Hill, and …Other than that, things are going great. But there is Oregon State and Washington State, Stanford got the call to the ACC last season, it's still a Power Four program, and considering there's a not-that-awful starting 22 likely in place, there are enough winnable games on the slate to maybe, possibly, potentially come up with one of its best seasons in years. (Even if that means just five wins.) Stanford Cardinal Preview 2025: Offense X CFN, Fiu | CFN Facebook | Bluesky Fiu, CFN- It was a rough year for the offense. There were too many turnovers, not enough third down conversions, and it all started with a line that couldn't keep anyone out of the backfield. There should be an improvement.- There isn't enough proven depth, but the starting five up front should be okay. Tackle combination of Kahlil House and former UCLA Bruin Niki Prongos is good enough. Sacramento State transfer Nathan Mejia is new, but guards Simione Pale and Jack Leyrer are back. - The running backs need more room, but they're okay. Micah Ford was second on the team with 309 yards and Chris Davis was third averaging over five yards per carry, but all 11 touchdowns came from former quarterbacks Ashton Davis (Auburn) and Justin Lamson (Montana State).- Elijah Brown is a promising young quarterback, freshman Bear Bachmeier is the future, and between the two they'll let it rip. They need receivers, though, with star target Elic Ayomanor now a Tennessee Titan and Emmett Mosley now at Texas. Tiger Bachmeier is fine for the slot, but it's up to CJ Williams (Wisconsin) and a slew of transfers to take over. Stanford Cardinal Preview 2025: Defense - The defense was among the worst in the ACC. The pass rush was fine, but star David Bailey is now at Texas Tech. The run defense wasn't bad, but the pass D was among the worst in America. But there's hope.- Collin Wright is a keeper at safety. He led the team with three picks to go along with his 45 tackles, and big-tackling safeties Scotty Edwards and Mitch Sinclair are strong. The corners are thin, though, needing Dartmouth transfer Jordan Washington to be an instant factor.- The defensive backs had to make too many stops. The linebacking corps is at least experienced with Matt Rose good for the inside and Tevarua Tafiti a factor in the backfield. The line is also full of veterans, and it's one area with enough depth to expect a production boost. Stanford Cardinal Key to the Season Come up with third down one's expecting a brick wall, but the Cardinal front six/seven is far too experienced to struggle so much on key downs. It wasn't quite this simple, but it's not far won three games last season. Those were the three teams the defense didn't allow teams to convert more than 40% of their third down tries. Stanford Cardinal Key Player Kahlil House, OT O line has to come up with a stronger season and it starts with the tackles. The 6-4, 285-pound tackle was thrown into the mix as a true freshman. It wasn't always smooth, but the potential, talent and athleticism are there to be the main man up front. Stanford Cardinal Top Transfer, Biggest Transfer Loss Top Transfer In: CJ Williams, WR was hard to show off too much in the weirdly-bad Wisconsin offense, but last year Williams averaged over 15 yards per catch on his 16 grabs. He might not be a volume catcher, but he's got the talent to stretch the field a bit from the Transfer Out: David Bailey, EDGE not like he played like the next Lawrence Taylor, but he cranked up 14.5 sacks and 23 tackles for loss in his three seasons, growing into more of a wrecking ball in Year Three. Arguably the top pass rusher in the portal, now he's at Texas Tech. Stanford Cardinal Key Game Boston College, Sept. 13The Cardinal start early at Hawaii, get a date at BYU, and then the ACC season opens up when Boston College comes to Palo Alto. It's a winnable home game if everything goes right, and with Virginia and San Jose State to follow, it's possible to match last year's three-win total before October.- 2025 Stanford Cardinal Schedule Breakdown Stanford Cardinal Top 10 Players 1. Collin Wright, S Jr.2. Tevarua Tafiti, LB Sr.3. Sam Roush, TE Sr.4. Scotty Edwards, S Jr.5. Micah Ford, RB, RFr.6. Elijah Brown, QB Soph.7. Emmet Kenney, PK Sr.8. Anthony Franklin, EDGE Sr.9. Kahlil House, OT Soph.10. Tiger Bachmeier, WR Jr. Stanford Cardinal 2024 Fun Stats - Penalties: Opponents 81 for 742 yards, Stanford 65 for 588 yards- Tackles for Loss: Opponents 104 for 394 yards, Stanford 63 for 236 yards- Interceptions: Opponents 17, Stanford 9 Stanford Cardinal 2025 Season Prediction, Win Total, What Will Happen The schedule is easy enough to be a real opportunity for a good season, but can Stanford take advantage of it?There's no Clemson, Georgia Tech, Louisville, or Virginia Tech to deal with - and no Duke, Syracuse, and Wake Forest, either - but there are enough landmines to make it tough in the SMU, Florida State, at Miami - October will be rough. There will be a few other forget-about-it games when the Cardinal aren't even close - at BYU might be that, and so will Notre Dame - but there should be a few shockers to flirt with a decent season. It might not be a bowl run, but considering the circumstances, it'll be an okay The Stanford Cardinal Win Total At … 3.5Likely Wins: No Sure Thing Wins50/50 Games: Boston College, Cal, at Hawaii, at North Carolina, Pitt, San Jose State, at VirginiaLikely Losses: at BYU, Florida State, at Miami, Notre Dame, at SMU © 2025 The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.
USA Today
23-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Arch Manning vs Garrett Nussmeier: Who has better chance at the 2026 No. 1 overall pick?
Arch Manning vs Garrett Nussmeier: Who has better chance at the 2026 No. 1 overall pick? We're days away from the 2026 NFL Draft. As usual, a lot of talk is centered around the quarterback position. This QB class isn't great. It's a step down from last year's class, which featured three elite prospects at the top of the draft. Caleb Williams went No. 1 overall, followed by LSU product Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye at No. 2 and No. 3. Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders, and Jaxson Dart headline this year's class. All three have a chance to go in the first round, and Ward has earned some high praise, but Sanders and Dart's status as first-rounders is questionable. With uncertainty surrounding this group, some fan bases turned their attention to a 2026 quarterback crop that has a chance to be top-heavy, much like the one we saw in 2024. Two names that project to be in the discussion for the. No. 1 overall pick are Texas's Arch Manning and LSU's Garrett Nussmeier. The two sit atop the Heisman Trophy odds board, and if either has a Heisman-caliber season, they'll be one of the first three players off the board in 2026. Today, we'll look at who has the better shot of being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. The case for Garrett Nussmeier Nussmeier wouldn't be the first LSU quarterback to follow this path. Joe Burrow had a promising 2018 at LSU before taking it to another level in his fifth year of college football. That led to Burrow going No. 1 overall in 2020. Jayden Daniels' story is similar, though he was the second player taken. Nussmeier's 2024 showed plenty of promise, even if there was the occasional mistake. You could have said the same thing about Burrow and Daniels after their fourth years. But Nussmeier's arm is as talented as they come. He can make all the throws. Nussmeier showcases an ability to throw with velocity or deliver layered passes. The accuracy is good and he can place the ball into tight windows. Nussmeier's final three games in 2024 was the best three-game stretch of his career, and it could be a sign of things to come in 2025. According to PFF, Nussmeier's 84.9 passing grade in that span was the best in the SEC. He averaged 8.9 yards per attempt while throwing seven touchdowns to just one pick. If that's the version of Nussmeier we see all year in 2024, he will be the first player selected in next year's draft. The case for Arch Manning The last name says it all. Manning was built to play quarterback in the NFL. As a recruit, Manning was the the top ranked player in the country, according to 247Sports and Rivals. The Louisiana native has all the talent in the world. We've yet to see Manning for an extended sample size, but when he got a chance in 2024, he looked the part. Manning made two starts as Quinn Ewers dealt with an injury. Against Mississippi State, Manning completed 26 passes on 31 attempts. He averaged 10.5 yards per pass and tossed two scores. Manning and Nussmeier have similar levels of arm talent, but Manning has an edge in the mobility department. Not only can he make all the throws, but he can move the ball with his legs. Another factor working in Manning's favor is age. Manning will be a redshirt sophomore this fall, two years younger than Nussmeier. The potential is off the charts. There's a reason Manning is the Heisman favorite. Even a moderately productive season could be enough to make Manning the No. 1 overall pick in 2026.
